The Future of Daine and Numair
by Unknown to Myself
Summary: Modern DN. They meet when Daine goes to college. They talk. They become friends. Disclaimer: I don't own anything that isn't mine to own. That should cover it.
1. Chapter 1

Daine awoke with a jolt. She had been having the strangest dream that a magical world called Tortall had spells, and lots of animals. Even what people that her dream self talked to spoke of someone called a Wildmage. Her dream self almost met this girl, had only just seen her talk to an animal, and was rudely awakened, while thinking mildly, "that's what I can do too…"

"Daine…DAINE get up! You are going to be late…." said Cloud, her white and gray cat. Cloud bit her. Daine was instantly awake. "You graduated high school with top honors," Cloud continued "and if you're going to be late for your first day of college and then not get a job, and then not be able to feed me, or any other animals living here, then I might just have to go and work my charms and get picked up by some rich person who can." Cloud turned up her tail and began to wash herself.

"Nice speech."

"Thank you."

Daine rolled her aching body out of bed and got ready to go. Luckily she had laid out everything that she needed the night before.

Running to the bus stop in the rain was slow work, and Daine barely made it to the bus. Once on, she realized there were no seats except to a grumpy looking man who seemed to be in his late twenties.

"Don't drip water on my papers! You'll ruin them!" the man said, without looking up.

"Sorry."

"You should be." He looked up. Daine was looking remorseful, somewhat like a sad puppy. The man sighed. "Hello, my name is Numair." he smiled at her.

Daine looked up, startled. "My name is Veriladaine, but most call me Daine."

"Nice to meet you."

"Same to you."

They rode in silence for a while, neither looking up. Finally, the bus stopped and they stood up at the same time saying, "This is my stop."

Numair smiled at her again.

Once outside the bus, Daine consulted a map. "Cornell, Cornell…" she muttered.

Numair apparently hadn't left her yet. "I'm going there too. Care to join me?"

"Um, sure?"

"Is that a question or an answer?"

"An answer. My first class is with someone named Professor Salmalin, in room 3H. Do you know where that is? or the general direction?"

"You are a student!"

"Yes."

"Okay, go down this street, take a left, and you will see the building. If you enter through the front doors, then you go down the hallway, take a right and then a left… Are you following?"

"Yes. I think." said Daine.

"Good. Then go to the very end of the hallway, and you are there!"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." He left, disappearing down a side street, practically running.

'Odd' thought Daine.

…

The rain was slowing to a drizzle as Daine entered the school. 'Hmmm, I need to go left, and then right er, right and then left… This is hopeless!' she thought to herself. She took a left, and bumped into a very short woman with purple eyes. "I am so sorry!" said Daine "Um, could you tell me how to get to Professor Salmalin's class? I'm afraid that I'm somewhat late…"

"A newbie are you? My name is Alanna, I am head of security and do a bunch of other things that you probably don't want to know about." She said.

"Right…"

A man walked into view, spotted Alanna and came over to where she and Daine were talking.

"Already torturing students, my dear?" asked the man, grinning and slinging an arm around Alanna's waist.

"This is my husband, George." Alanna said, jerking a thumb at him. "Anyway, to get to Professor Salmalin's class, go up this hall, then take a left. It will be at the end of the hallway."

"Thank You!" Daine said as she trotted off towards her first class.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Daine walked into the class, she saw the same handsome stranger who had told her where her first class was. What was his name again? Aha, Numair.

"You are late." Professor Salmalin remarked. Daine bowed her head and continued to the only available seat, the one directly in front of Numair's desk.

"Sorry." She murmured.

"Hmph." He snorted and turned to the chalkboard.

Daine glanced to her left. A boy who was very handsome was staring at her grinning, until she blushed and turned to her right. On her other side, was a nice looking girl, although she looked somewhat frightened at the prospect of coming face to face with live animals. Daine smiled comfortingly at her, and she grinned weakly back. Daine faced forward again.

"Now who can tell me what type of water is good for the Altolamprologus Compressiceps?"

No one raised their hands.

"Ms. Sarrasri? Seeing as you were late perhaps you can grace us with this answer."

"Um, freshwater?" mumbled Daine.

"Correct. Someone has been studying, if not their map." A ripple of laughter passed through the classroom.

Daine's cheeks burned.

…

The rest of the lesson was pretty much like that, Professor Salmalin picking on students and asking them hard questions. She liked the subject, even though her teacher was kind of giving her 'special attention'.

In the hallway after class the handsome boy Daine had seen earlier in class flirted with everyone he could, until Professor Salmalin barked; "Stop flirting Mr.Larse! You will have plenty of time for women after the day is done and you can go back to your rooms! Ms. Sarrasri, could you come and see me for a moment? Evin, you may move on."

Evin disappeared with a flirtatious wink, and Daine blushed again. Numair frowned. As Daine entered the classroom Numair closed the door and told her to sit.

"You missed the first part of my lesson, in which I gave out your first assignment, an easy one, to be typed and handed in tomorrow. It should be approximately a thousand words, and contain the following: why you came here, a bit about you, your relationship with animals, and anything else you feel necessary. This is just to let me get to know you and all the other students… and if you have any opinions on this class, feel free to voice them. But remember, I most likely won't use them."

"Um, okay."

"Another thing is, did you even take in any part of this class? You were gazing at the rabbit cage the entire time. You seemed almost to be conversing with it, which I believe in, and now you know why my colleagues think I'm mad."

"Um, okay."

"Is that you're entire vocabulary Ms. Sarrasri? Because you seem to be saying a lot of um, okays."

"No. I just think that while you might have thought I was 'conversing' with an animal…" she took a deep breath and looked away, "I wasn't."

Professor Salmalin narrowed his eyes at her. "You lie." She didn't respond. "Anyway" he continued "I think that you will do well in this class despite your rough start."

Daine looked up, startled. His hand brushed her shoulder and she had never really noticed how tall he was, or how pretty his smile. And his voice… Daine! She told herself sharply. Yu are not supposed to be thinking about him this way. He is your teacher, for crying out loud! 'But I think he likes you too' the rabbit said to her in mindspeak from all the way across the room.

"Shut up." She told the rabbit glaringly.

"Excuse me?" said an incredulous Numair. "Here I am complimenting you and you are telling me to shut up? What the hell was that for?"

"I'm sorry!" Daine said burying her face in her hands. "I was talking to Simon!"

"The rabbit?"

"Yes the rabbit!" she said without looking up.

"So I was right!" he grinned broadly.

"No! um, I have to leave now; I don't want to be later than I already am for my next class. Anyway, it was nice talking to you, but you really shouldn't accuse people so rudely. Just please let me be for now and I don't nave any idea why I just spoke to you like that." she muttered. "Because I am a wonderfully nice person." He paused. "Why can't I tell anyone?"

"Just because… some random scientist or another will take me for testing, and stick a bunch of tubes in my brain, and after it's all over he'll pronounce me mad, and I will be sent away to some random home for problematic people even though I have been doing perfectly fine on my own since I was fifteen!" All of this came out in a rush.

"Oh. Well then." Numair walked up to her and wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulder. "Then I won't tell anyone." He said simply.

"Thank you." Numair hadn't let go of her shoulder. "Um, perhaps I should get to my next class?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Daine was in her next class pondering her previous teacher's behavior…and why he closed the door. She thought teachers were always supposed to leave the door open. No matter, I'll just…"Veriladaine! I asked you a question!"

Her teacher was a woman this time, tough looking though.

"Um, I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"

There was a ripple of laughter throughout the room.

"Hmmm. Veriladaine, I asked whether you had anything to add to our discussion on the anatomy of a horse."

"Well, yes I do bu-" The sound of a bell ringing cut her off.

"Very well, class you are dismissed. Veriladaine, please write would you would have contributed and bring it to the next class?"

"Sure, but please call me Daine."

"Alright Daine."

…

Once she arrived at her apartment she sighed, dropping her bag on the floor. Cloud walked over and rubbed against her legs.

"Go away." Daine said. "I have homework."

She sat at her desk ( which really wasn't more than a kitchen table ) and began to write her paper for Mr. Salmalin's class.

:"why you came here, a bit about you, your relationship with animals, and anything else you feel necessary" she murmured.

_I decided to come to this school because I wanted to do something with my life. Each time I went somewhere it didn't particularly work out, especially after my mother and grandfather died. Cornell seemed like a good school, so I applied for a scholarship and managed to make it to this point. I have a cat living with me named Cloud who is whitish grey and extraordinarily picky. Whenever I see an animal, which used to be a lot more often I would take it to wherever I was living and try to help it recover and find it a good home…_

Once finished, she re read her essay and sighed. She couldn't hand this in, but she had nothing else. Cloud smirked, in a way only a cat could. "Thinking about something? Perhaps a professor?"

Daine grumbled, "Go away. I have other homework."

With her tail in the air Cloud stalked away and curled up on the couch. There wasn't really anywhere else to go, as the couch served as a bed for Daine as well. The room was barren, with a small and nearly empty refrigerator in a corner and a microwave on top of it. Her desk and table were next to it, and the only other ornament was a gigantic suitcase over flowing with items such as clothes and books. Even a cheap laptop. There was a small bathroom to the right, and the faucet dripped. Cloud continued to chatter, telling Daine she hated this new place and that she should move somewhere nicer. She also said that if she was Daine she'd get some rest and find a job on the weekend.

"No, I don't have time for rest."

Half an hour later, she pushed cloud of the couch as she emitted a yowl of discomfort only to fall asleep into that magical world she had recently seen in her dreams called Tortall.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

This time her dream self was walking endlessly and tirelessly through a garden. It was nice, and a castle loomed overhead. She desperately wanted to meet this wildmage she had heard so much about. People here seemed to speak to her as if she was a the wildmage, but the last person she had spoken to (the one who had led her to meet the real wildmage) seemed confused and upset when she was waking up. Did she vanish? Or was something else wrong? It seemed like this dream place she constantly visited went on with time while she was awake.

She ran now, seeing what looked to be a stable. As she got closer, she smelled horses, and was flying through the air (after having tripped over a pile of dung), smack into a girl who was wiping her hands on a rag seemingly after polishing something.

Daine felt like she was being pushed in a cold lake, with a waterfall crashing down around her head. She was being flooded with memories that weren't hers, painful ones and happy ones. She sank to her knees and buried her head in her hands, trying to deflect the hopes and fears. When she was sure she could stand she arose on wobbly knees…and couldn't find the girl. She had vanished. Daine looked down at her hands and found her self gripping a blackened rag. She saw someone else's shirt, which had a familiar smell. And the voices of the horses were much more prominent. She entered the stable, and found herself saying, "Hello Darkmoon, I'm sorry I forgot to bring you a snack." Daine faltered. She had no idea where that name had come from, and then one of the memories that had flashed by her closed eyes told her the answer.

She pictured a short woman with closely cropped red hair telling Daine that this was Darkmoon, as her other horse Moonlight had died. The woman in her memory had a strange likeness to the woman she had met previously-her husband's name was George, and she was Alanna.

Daine was shaken out of her reverie when an arm was slung around her waist. Someone was kissing her neck. She spun around so fast, that the stranger was knocked into a nearby pile of hay.

"Daine! What was that for?"

She stood with her hands at her hips squinting at the unknown man, who was gathering himself with as much dignity as he could, and then standing, towering above her.

"Who are you?" she demanded furiously.

The man looked taken aback, and Daine suddenly felt ashamed. "N-Numair?" she ventured quizzically. He stepped towards her holding his hands out looking over her carefully. She didn't seem any different, her hands were all dirty, her long hair tied in a horsetail, and was just apologizing to Alanna's horse. But even though his arms were open, she didn't go to give him a hug, didn't offer any explanation of her behavior. So he closed the gap between them pulling her close to his chest. Daine's thoughts were in turmoil. In one part of her mind, he was her professor, in the newer part he was her lover and had been ever since they had gotten back from the realms.

"Are you brooding about your parents again?" asked this Numair who wore breeches and loose white shirts and funny boots asked.

"What do you mean, parents?" she spat. "My mother was killed in a car crash." Then it dawned on her. Her mother was not killed in a car crash…she was killed in a fire, set to her house in a little village called Snowsdale.

"Um, Daine, I think you'd better come with me." She tried to ignore the unfamiliar memories that surged through her as he pulled her along, and fought the urge to turn around and kiss Numair. She was dragged through stone passageways, until they reached the top of a staircase, where there was a bronze plate reading Numair Salmalin. He pulled her through the fancy door and sat her on an unmade bed, where she was swamped with memories of her and Numair. She got under the covers and he left. She heard him running down the stairs and yelling for Alanna. More memories. They were nearly along with the timeline of her own life except she was younger when almost everything happened. She started being taught by this alternate Numair when she was fifteen. And now…they were lovers apparently. She heard voices.

"I'm telling you, she didn't remember me!"

"That's impossible!"

"It's the truth!"

Alanna walked through the door with a very concerned and frustrated Numair behind her.

"Alanna!" said Daine.

"See Numair?" said Alanna, turning to him, "She remembers _me._"

"I'm sorry then." He replied stiffly. Alanna left, chuckling.

Daine went up to him and hesitantly put her arms around him. He smelled nice, kind of soapy, and kind of woodsy. He pulled away and sat on the bed. "Why did you do that?"

"I honestly don't know." She sat next to him.

"Magelet?"

"What did you just call me?" she questioned sharply. Then she blinked and remembered. "I-I mean, yes?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Why did you forget? Why do you only remember some things when they are triggered?"

"I can't tell you Numair. I want to, but please, _you_ remember that I don't know, er, remember everything just now, and help me. Otherwise other people will get suspicious too."

"Fine." He said shortly. Suddenly a mischievous glint showed in his eyes and he kissed Daine full on the mouth. "That trigger anything?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The rest of the week was a blur. Daine succeeded in most of her classes, having the most trouble in Numair's. He constantly told her to focus, and was she actually taking in anything he was saying? Her dreams plagued her during the day; her day haunted her at night when she became Veralidaine Sarrasri, Tortallan wildmage. Her dream Numair seemed more real than her cold and distant professor, so in her mind she replaced him with her dream Numair.

It was a Friday, and Numair's class was just before the usual lunch time. However, as luck would have it, he decided that today would be the day that he spoke to Daine after class. With a sigh she walked to the front of the room, and standing in front of him reminded her of the first time she and dream Numair had met. Numair began to speak:

"Daine, you're failing my class."

His words shocked her, she felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. "W-why?" she stuttered, "I've done every single homework assignment…and I come to every class so…how could I possibly be failing?"

"Daine, your homework shows that you fully comprehend the subject, but half the time you miss the questions. It seems like you are trying to do one thing, but this class is for something else. Has something major happened that I should know about? Why don't you ever raise your hand in class? I know you have the answer."

"Is that all?" she asked coldly.

"What?" Numair was thoroughly confused now, He just told yet another student they were failing and they asked if that was all he had to say. He took a deep breath and asked her something he never asked another student before. "Do you need extra help? I _know _you are very intelligent" holding up his hand before she could respond indignantly, "but it seems that this is the only thing that is troubling you, I've spoken to other teachers; they all say you are excelling in their classes."

Daine pondered his question for a minute. She made a mental pro/con list. I would begin to be able to do well in his class, I have time. He might hate me and I'd be miserable. Numair looked at her searchingly as she thought. "Fine." She finally said. She tore a piece of paper out of one of her notebooks and scribbled something on it. "Here is my phone number and email. Call or send me the details. Now, I really have to eat." She left, practically running through the door. Numair sat at his desk and put his head in his hands, muttering, "Why…why…did I just do that? I am such an…" Someone walked through the door and sat on the edge of his desk.

"Hello Varice." He noticed she had closed the door. So, he leaned over the desk and kissed her.

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Daine looked around the cafeteria for somewhere to sit. There were absolutely no free tables. She saw Evin and another girl glaring at each other. At least she kind of knew Evin. She walked over and asked if she could sit down. The girl scooted over and introduced herself as Miri. Daine picked at her pasta in silence, until Evin turned to her and said, how do you feel about Onua's class? I think it's brutal."

"Um, it's actually my favorite. What about you Miri?"

"I agree with Evin. Onua is brutal. She's kind of frightening."

"Oh. Well." She checked her watch. It had stopped working. "I'd better go, as it's getting kind of late, maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" Daine waved as she left.

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The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Daine went to Starbucks, put on an apron and began serving people as usual. She had managed to not spill coffee on anyone when Numair walked in the door, with a blond, busty, and tall woman clinging to his arm. Daine slopped some coffee on her apron in shock, handed the man she was serving his coffee, and then approached Numair's table.

"Daine?" he asked startled. "You know each other?" asked Varice. Numair turned to her

and said, "Varice, dear, she's a student in one of my classes."

"Oh." Varice seemed to be happier. "Well then, I'll have an Iced Mocha Latte with Cream but no Chocolate shavings."

Daine nodded. Numair said, "I'll just have a black coffee, thanks." Daine walked back to behind the counter to prepare this Varice's super long drink. She saw her whispering things in Numair's ear and felt a twinge of anger. Numair's drink took considerably less time to do. She handed it to him and he gave her $6.75, a two dollar tip on cheap coffee. Varice noticed.

After they left the shop became busier than usual, and Daine took an extra shift, working with Perin, a guy who worked at Starbucks practically around the clock. He preferred working with the money. She didn't mind working with him, as he was always nice to her and sometimes bought her a cup of coffee at the end of her shift. Halfway through her extra shift, the entire place cleared out. Daine remarked to Perin that this was a very strange business day, and then, noticing they were nearly out of cream, went to the back room to get some more.

She walked in and ran her hands along the wall, looking for the light switch. She turned around to face the door again, but tripped in the process, falling right into Perin's arms.

"Hello." He said grinning at her.

"Hello, and could you please help me find the light switch?" Daine replied.

He smirked. "The light switch is usually right next to the door." He said, flicking it on and then off again.

"Oh. Right." murmured Daine, embarrassed. Perin smirked again, and then leaned in, kissing her forcefully. It wasn't at all the way her dream Numair had, this wasn't gentle at all, and when she gasped he thrust his tongue between her teeth. When she pulled away, Perin was trying to enfold her in his arms. Her mind was whirring. Numair had a girlfriend, so why couldn't she get a guy? She was simply mixing up her dreams with reality. She pulled Perin back to her, and they kissed until they heard the door "ding!" to signify that a customer had entered.

**Authors Note:**

Reviews and constructive criticism make me happy. Plus, give me incentive to write. If no-one is reading my stories I may as well keep them to myself. In the next chapter I plan on making the dream thing more clear...

Blackheart Feather: Thanks, so much!


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note: I'm sorry, I just kinda forgot, and I've been busy? Not really an excuse. It doesn't get particularly clear, but ince I've been thinking about it more, I think I found a way to tie it mostly together.

Her first 'study session' was today. She wasn't particularly thrilled, bills had just arrived. Apparently Starbucks was not going to cover it. She would have to tell Numair she couldn't do lessons, and she would probably have to drop his class. She liked it, but she figured she was learning enough from him while she slept. A blush stained her cheeks and she put her head down on the desk, still waiting for him to show up.

She was so tired…

No rest, always awake even when asleep…

She vaguely heard voices fighting outside the door, but didn't bother to get up. Hmmm, the wooden desk seemed very comfortable. She fell asleep.

She no longer 'fell through' to this other world, she just kind of appeared. Sometimes she was alone and would hang out with the horses, and once, she found herself in a very compromising position with Numair. This time, as soon as she was there she felt better all around. Her neck wasn't stiff, she wasn't tired at all. She was in their rooms, and it was night there. It usually was day when she arrived. She was in a bath tub. She decided to just go with it, nothing bad could really happen here, it was just a screwed up dream, using characters from her life. Except that she didn't really get any sleep. She sniffed the bottles on the side. They smelled quite good, actually. She poured one in. It foamed and made bubbles. It had been ages since she had had a bubble bath. She stuck her head under the water, and when she came up for air, a very angry looking Numair was standing in front of her.

"Eep!" she covered her mouth, regretting it had ever happened and sunk as far as she could to be hidden by the bubbles. They were dissipating quickly.

"Daine." She desperately tried to calm down, but began to freak out when she saw him start unbuttoning his shirt.

"Wha…What are you doing?"

"I am getting undressed."

"Why? Really, I'm almost done; I'll be out in a second."

"Why can't I join you?" She nearly screamed.

"Just…because…" she decided to take a gamble. "You're my teacher?"

He smirked and bent over her. "When I really was your teacher, it didn't really matter, did it?" He frowned and then grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the tub. This time she really screamed. He was holding her arms length away, watching her as she wriggled and tried to get down. "Let go of me you stupid git! Numair!"

"Who are you and what did you do to Daine?!" He demanded.

"I didn't do anything! I _am_ Daine."

She stopped wriggling and tried to look as dignified as possible, a foot off the ground and without clothes. Numair got a funny look in his eyes. Daine didn't know what he was going to do and began to get a little worried. He put her down and scrambled over to the side of the bed farthest from the grinning Numair. She ducked down and began frantically grabbing at the top blanket, pulling it off the bed to cover her. Numair, looking extremely childish and much too big, launched himself onto the bed, propped his head on his hands and looked over the edge at her. She stood up shakily, and for once, towered over him. He rolled over onto his back, his hands now behind his head.

"So…If you really are Daine, why don't you drop the towel and change into a kitten?"

She gaped at him, and then a response came to her. "Kitten's don't like to be wet."

"I'll dry you off."

"Still!"

"Well then, I've come to the conclusion that you are not Daine."

She had done it before, she knew she could. She managed to change here, and standing there, dripping wet in front of Numair, the possibilities intrigued her. Imagine turning into cat at home, perhaps for once not freezing to death at night. She could do anything she wanted. And here, once, she had even been able to heal a little bird! Imagine!

"I'm waiting." He grinned up at her. She suddenly smiled, and closed her eyes, breathing out. Soon, the edge of the bed seemed very high up. A large hand picked her up and placed her on a hairy plane. Numair was petting her gently, and she rolled over so he could have more access to her stomach, careful not to dig her claws into him. She was blissfully happy, and began purring, loudly. Suddenly she was jolted out of her heaven by a voice saying, "Daine, were you purring?"

She lifted her head off the desk, shocked that she hadn't felt a thing changing from one place to another. "Excuse me?"

"I'm pretty sure I walked in here and you were purring."

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't. How about you teach me something instead of badgering me about my sleeping habits?"

He squinted at her, then asked,

"Do you ever sleep? You look really exhausted. What do you do?"

"Well, I was just sleeping now wasn't I?" She couldn't get the picture of a bare-chested Numair out of her head. He looked at her for a few more seconds, and then decided to drop it. "Care to open the book?"

They went through the book, Numair asking her to extract main points. It was boring, and not anything she had in mind at all. After a few more long minutes Numair looked up.

"You don't care about any of this." He stated.

"Yes, really, I do! It's just…"

"What?"

"You can't actually learn anything about animals from a book! And what's this packet thingy you gave me? I don't recall you handing it out to the rest of the class." She read the first sentence aloud. "Wild mages have the ability to communicate, change into, and heal animals." She could feel a blush rising. "Well isn't that interesting?" She cocked her head.

"Yes, I do believe it's very interesting. Perhaps you should take it home and read it. It could be an…extra credit project. Or, just a separate thing. You grasp everything, maybe some things need touching upon, but you shouldn't be in this class. I know I said you were failing, but that may have been because you didn't do the assignments. You went above and beyond."

Numair began to get slightly excited. "I could do a different course! I don't know if anyone else would be willing to do it, but I can make time!"

Daine stopped him before he got even more excited. "I haven't said yes yet, but maybe. I'll just have to rearrange work stuff, and everything." She muttered the last bit quietly to herself, but Numair heard her. "You have a job?"

"Yes…scholarships don't cover everything."

"Well, Daine, please think about it, and here, call me when you have your answer." He began scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.

"Won't I just see you the day after tomorrow?" He looked up, crestfallen.

"I was actually hoping that um, you could get back to me sooner…" Daine checked her watch. "Oh shit, I mean, shoot, I'm going to be late."

She grabbed the paper from him, gathered her stuff, and hightailed it out the door. Numair watched her go, shaking his head.


End file.
